We’re glad to see that the nuclear deal with North Korea is back on track. Presuming the latest agreement holds (always a big if with North Korea), President Bush can at least say that when he left office Pyongyang was no longer producing plutonium for nuclear bombs.
President Bush finally removed North Korea from the terrorism blacklist after Pyongyang agreed to a compromise plan to let American and other inspectors verify that it is shutting down its weapons program.
The deal is far from perfect. It includes vague and confidential terms that could cause problems. But it is not the surrender that hard-line critics are charging.
In recent weeks, both sides have been playing a dangerous game of brinksmanship. After North Korea shuttered its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, the White House balked at taking it off the terrorism list and insisted that Pyongyang also accept a go-anywhere-see-anything verification plan. The North then barred inspectors from Yongbyon, threatened to resume plutonium production and appeared to be preparing for its second nuclear test.
Instead of full access to any site with potential nuclear relevance, the compromise provides that inspectors can go to Yongbyon facilities and some academic institutions; access to other sites is by “mutual consent.”
We would have preferred to see a more specific commitment for inspections at the site of North Korea’s 2006 nuclear test and hope Pyongyang’s pledge to let inspectors take samples from sites is as firm as administration officials say it is. We also know the cost of letting this deal fall apart.
For six years, Vice President Dick Cheney and other hard-liners managed to block any serious talks with North Korea. In that time, North Korea’s scientists produced enough plutonium for at least four more weapons - in addition to the one or two already believed to be in its arsenal - and tested a nuclear weapon. There is no way that strategy can be considered a success.
We still do not know if North Korea will ever abandon its nuclear weapons. The next president will have to demonstrate persistence, vigilance and flexibility to try to move this deal ahead. It now looks as if he’ll have a chance to try.